Children's Home run by The Amicus Community (Arundel) Ltd in West Sussex

Inspection report for children's home: 2696602 1 Registered provider: The Amicus Community (Arundel) Ltd

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is part of an independent children’s therapeutic community which is accredited by the Royal College of Psychiatrists. It provides care for up to five children with emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, four children were living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The suitably qualified manager registered with Ofsted in July 2024.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Date of last inspection: 26 September 2023

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2696602 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

26/09/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2696602 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a welcoming home with spaces for them to relax and play. It is decorated to a good standard, with children’s photos and artwork on the walls. They are involved in the decorating of the home. They chose the paint colour for the hallway upstairs and the ‘planet’ theme for the snug. This gives it a homely feel and gives children a sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are listened to, and their views are valued. They know how to raise concerns and complaints. Children have daily meetings to discuss their views, wishes and feelings. They are encouraged to share their ‘wants’ and, when possible, staff help them achieve these. For example, staff told one child, who wanted their ears pierced, that they would talk to their family and social worker and let them know the decision.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All the children are attending full-time education and are making progress in line with their individual goals. The children’s detailed education plans outline the progress they are making and what is needed to help them continue to make progress. Children are encouraged to learn and develop life skills through doing day-to-day tasks. For example, they enjoy and are proud of their cooking skills. This increases their confidence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are encouraged to enjoy a range of physically and emotionally stimulating activities, such as arts and crafts, trips to the parks and shops, and playing games.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are well met. For children with specific health needs, there are clear plans in place to support staff to manage them safely.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Dates that are important to the children, such as birthdays, anniversaries of when they moved in and goodbyes before moving on, are celebrated as appropriate. This reassures children of their value and importance in the home. Staff sensitively supported one child who recently left the home to move to their next home and have remained in contact with them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are cared for by staff who enjoy their company and understand their backgrounds and needs. One member of staff said they had changed their hours to be able to see the children. Another said, ‘I absolutely love my job.’

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff understand individual children’s vulnerabilities and needs. They have a good understanding of children’s therapeutic needs. Staff work closely with other professionals in the organisation’s therapeutic team. Reflective practice sessions have resulted in supportive approaches that help the children to manage their feelings and behaviours. Inspection report for children's home: 2696602 4 Staff know and understand the children well. When children become overwhelmed and struggle emotionally, they help them calm. The staff help children reflect and explore responsibility following incidents where harm has been caused. They encourage the children to do something kind in return. For example, two children drew pictures for staff they had hurt.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff help the children to understand how to identify and manage risks, for example, stranger danger, online safety and respectful relationships. Staff are aware of the safeguarding processes and have completed all core training. This enables them to do their roles effectively and support the children well.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

The manager thoroughly reviews and analyses physical interventions, to identify any emerging patterns and trends. This helps them understand behaviours and supports a reduction in the use of physical intervention.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

The manager works closely with other safeguarding partners, including the local authority designated officer (LADO). The managers invited the LADO to deliver a safeguarding session to staff about their role and when to make a referral. This demonstrates collaborative practice and a willingness to learn and develop the service.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The experienced manager understands the children’s needs. The therapeutic model is embedded in practice. All staff use this when supporting the children. The organisation is carrying out research in collaboration with Chichester University. The focus is on assessing the impact of the practice model on children currently receiving support, as well as those who have left the home. The manager believes that this will further support the home to understand the strengths and areas for development in their practice model.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager values the staff and places a high level of importance on supporting them. The staff feel well supported by senior leaders and are supportive of each other. They receive regular and effective supervision. One member of staff spoke about responsive good-quality supervision and support from the director and manager. Managers use clinical supervision and reflective staff meetings to provide guidance and support to staff. They use effective approaches to hold reflective discussions with staff when practice issues emerge. This helps staff to improve their practice and identify areas for their professional development. Consequently, staff feel valued and listened to.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

All staff undertake the home’s core training programme. They complete additional training to meet the children’s specific needs, such as autism, epilepsy and safeguarding children with special education needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager ensures effective quality assurance processes and maintains effective oversight of staff practice. This ensures that the right support is offered to children and risks are managed well. However, language used in some records could potentially Inspection report for children's home: 2696602 5 stigmatise children. For example, language such as ‘managed the table’ and ‘disturbed’ are used in children’s records.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Feedback from external professionals is mostly positive. Social workers value the monthly reports and information they receive on incidents relating to the children. One social worker said that staff are ‘very good at reporting incidents and concerns’. Another said staff are ‘amazing at supporting family time’. Inspection report for children's home: 2696602 6

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, using the social care common inspection framework. This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, and to consider how well it complies with The Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’. Inspection report for children's home: 2696602 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: The Amicus Community (Arundel) Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Coach House, Arundel Road, Fontwell, Arundel BN18 0SX

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Inspector

Chido Mangava, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2696602 8 achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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